Getting There: Tires, to chain or not to chain

Q: This first inquiry is featured with our thanks to a young Times Union colleague from California, who is experiencing her first upstate New York winter.

Hoping to ease her concerns about driving on snowy roads, her father presented her with a set of tire chains as a gift. She’s not really sure how to use them, though, and the topic got the rest of us in the newsroom thinking: are tire chains even legal in New York these days?

And what about studded snow tires? We don’t hear much about those anymore, either.

A: There is no prohibition in the state’s Vehicle & Traffic Law against using chains when the weather gets wintry, said state Department of Motor Vehicles spokesman Ken Brown.

Studded snow tires, too, are allowed, but state law sets specific restrictions on when you can have them on your car: from Oct. 16 until April 30.

With the advent of all-weather radials and improved designs for snow tires without studs, it became less common to see cars equipped with studded tires or chains. Still, some motorists who drive on hilly rural roads won’t start a winter without them.

Bill Glock, owner and president of Family Tire and Auto Service Center on State Street in downtown Schenectady said he has one customer who commutes daily from Schoharie County and insisted on getting four studded tires mounted on her car this year.

“She drives in every day on I-88,” he said. “She just felt that extra confidence” with studded tires.

But Glock rarely notices vehicles using chains these days, aside from the occasional city fire truck or other emergency vehicle, he said.

Snow tires, however, are back in vogue he said, as more car manufacturers equip their new cars with “performance-oriented” tires that are best on dry roads.

If you can swing it financially, Glock also offered this tip: many tire manufacturers now say it’s best to put the snows on all four wheels. Anti-lock brakes work best with equivalent traction all around, he said.

And while it may seem odd on a front-wheel-drive vehicle, Glock said it’s now often considered safer to put the newest tires or those with the best tread on the rear wheels.

“I would strongly encourage anyone to check their owner’s manuals,” for tire guidance, he said.

The biggest knock on chains — at least in your Getting There columnist’s opinion — is that those who use them often put them on only as needed. That sounds a little bit tricky if you’re not practiced in the technique, which involves laying them out on the ground and driving onto them before securing them around each tire.

“I have not seen chains used, myself, since I used them on police cars, and that was a number of years ago,” said Roger Dames, traffic safety coordinator for AAA Hudson Valley.

Generally speaking, Dames said, good all-season radials or regular snow tires should be sufficient for a driver who shows good judgment on the road.

And “if you don’t drive responsibly, it doesn’t matter what you have,” he said.
Q: I appreciated reading your recent response to an inquiry about drainage construction on the roadside of Route 85 in the Slingerlands area.

I’ve noticed similar work on Johnston Road, and I am wondering who is responsible for choosing the colors of the sandbag-like “building blocks” for these ditches?

The ones on Johnston Road are either a stark white plastic material or a hideous hunter-warning shade of orange. Wouldn’t it make more sense if they were green, brown or some other color that would blend in with the flora of the roadside?

How do these berms look over the long term? What is their life expectancy?

­— Owen Colfer, Voorheesville
A: These particular berms don’t have to last all that long because, you’ll be happy to know, they’re temporary.

“Johnston Road is still under construction. It’s a two-year project. We plan to finish next year,” explained Albany County Public Works Commissioner Michael Franchini.

And those “building blocks” you mentioned don’t just resemble sand bags. That’s basically what they are, Franchini said.

“The contractor used temporary check dams to control the amount of sediment that is flowing in the ditches,” he said. “It’s a temporary storm water control feature, and that won’t be part of the permanent construction.”

Since there’s no grass in place yet, it’s particularly important to keep away moving water that could erode the bank, Franchini noted.

“Getting There” is compiled by staff writer Cathy Woodruff. Do you have a question about transportation? Call 454-5020 or e-mail gettingthere@timesunion.com. Please include your name, town and telephone number.